Half Life
by Persephoniii
Summary: It was a formula that had spawned generations of imitations, all unsuccessful. But sometimes failure is unavoidable, and all that's left is a half-life. Captain America/OC
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel character.

Prologue

o

Her lungs were _burning_.

Even still, she forced herself to breathe through the pain, forced her fatigued body to _move_. _MOVE_-

Granted, it wasn't hard to find the motivation when there was a 1000 plus pound HULK trying to pound her into the ground. His fist hit the asphalt where her body had stood not even moments before. The concrete splintered like wood; she allowed herself a few scant seconds of shock, horror. _This is really happening_, she thought numbly. He was really trying to _hit_ _her_-

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. She saw his head lift, saw the shaggy mop of hair, then his eyes, moss green and positively _seething_.

She turned and fled the street.

It wasn't the _smartest_ thing she'd ever done. Although lately, 'smart' didn't seem a viable part of her repertoire. She ran wildly, the tail of her cardigan flapping behind her, no longer even bothering with trying to think rationally. Thinking took up too much energy and time. Her body was almost _depleted_ of said energy, and the fear based adrenaline high she'd been running off of was fast fading. With it came a whole host of other problems, like the searing pain in her left leg she'd failed to notice till now.

She stumbled into the first alley she came to, gasping for breath and collapsing against a brick wall.

There was blessed silence.

No roaring from an enraged Hulk, no sound of S.H.I.E.L.D agents chasing her on foot or vehicle… Had she lost them? It didn't seem likely. She forced herself away from the wall, still breathing hard, eyes darting furtively around the darkened alley, searching. There was a large dumpster several yards down, mid-way in the alley. She could only see the side facing her, and there was the brief worry that there might be someone hiding behind it, waiting to _STRIKE_. It made her heart beat faster, made the ever growing doubt increase even more.

There was a noise immediately to her left, a careful shifting-

_Cat_, she saw a moment later. Two bright blue eyes watched her owlishly before disappearing back into the shadows. She pressed a hand to her chest, willing herself to calm.

It was like some bad cliché from an action thriller. The absolute _worst_ place she could have possibly chosen to run to. The fatigue was getting to her. She would _never_ have made such a tactical error, such a…a _stupid mistake_, had she been in her right state of mind. But the inclusion of the Avengers in her apprehension was something she had not counted on. She drew a deep breath, shifting so that her weight was on her uninjured leg, and tried to _think_.

Going back towards the exit would mean facing the Hulk. _An angry Hulk_, she corrected with a shudder. And that was, quite frankly, _suicide_ as far as she was concerned. The only positive was that he had apparently not yet realized where she was. Otherwise he would have torn a hole through the alley by now.

The only option at this point was up, she decided hugging herself. The alley was narrow, but she could see the vague outline of a fire escape on the opposite building wall. She bit her lip, staring again towards the alley entrance, considering. Scaling rooftops would mean avoiding helicopters; S.H.I.E.L.D had a menagerie of flight devices at their disposal. It would be harder to lose them if they had visual from the skies. At least on the ground she had a reasonable amount of cover-

She looked again at the dumpster. It didn't _look_ full, which meant the trash truck had probably emptied it sometime recently. But if she waited a few hours, probably she could hitch a ride along with the trash. It wasn't an option she was particularly excited about, but-

Something whizzed past her, embedding with a _CHINK _into the brick wall beside her head. Her breath caught. In that moment, all intelligent thought fled from her brain.

"That was a warning," the voice called from somewhere above. "Next time I won't miss."

_Oh God. _

_They'd found her!_ She cringed into the wall, not daring to move. Despite her resolution, despite _everything_, in the midst of her panic she heard _that voice_. The one voice she had hoped to never hear again. Nick Fury, a mere memory in her consciousness, but just as sterile and cold as he was in real life. _Rule number five_, he'd said. _Always keep moving. Never STOP moving. The minute you stop, your enemy will find you_.

And she'd stopped. _She'd stopped_. It had just been for a moment, not even three full minutes, but it was enough and now _they'd caught her-!_

_The only thing accomplished by loss of composure is loss of life._ Rule number three. Now that she'd started, she couldn't seem to stop reciting them. Silently she recounted the words, clinging to their logic like a security blanket. She closed her eyes and took a trembling breath.

Rule number two: _Know your enemy_.

What did she know of Hawkeye? He was agile, quick despite having no powers to speak of. He had impeccable aim, was good with both sword and a bow, but seemed to prefer the bow…he was _arrogant_-

_All useless information at the moment!_ She wanted to look up, to search the skyline of the building, but then he might realize she was mapping his location, and if he suspected she was doing that, then-

There was nothing for it, then. Probably she was better off with the Hulk. Yes, she was eighty percent sure she was better off with the Hulk. Sort of. At least she'd be able to hear (_and see_) him coming. And she could use the crowds as cover. Heretofore she'd been avoiding them, but maybe it was time to rethink that. The Avengers did not like involving civilians, and the Hulk especially did not like crowds, she knew. Staying in the midst of one would offer at least _temporary_ protection…

A short term solution, and not a very good one at that, but it would have to do. She'd have to be fast to avoid Hawkeye's arrows. He probably had one aimed at her right now. That meant when she _did_ run, it would have to be _fast_. _No more hesitating_.

…she hesitated.

Though standing still, the pain in her knee had escalated to a near excruciating throb. The fact that she could even still _feel_ the pain was enough to make her worry. _Would she even be able to make it out of the alley? Could she even walk-?_

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

She stopped breathing.

Even cloaked in darkness there was no mistaking him. She'd seen the image of him a million times, had heard his voice - grainy and pitchy from the remnants of 1940's video feeds S.H.I.E.L.D had managed to salvage and convert- so much that she had memorized the inflection.

The original super soldier. _The_ super soldier, she corrected, because he was the only true _successful_ one… Her fingers curled into fists. What irony, she thought bitterly, eyes filling, to be stopped by _him_ of all people. She wondered if Nick Fury had set this up specifically for her.

On his right arm was his shield, looking just as it had from the photographs she'd seen. _Shiny. Patriotic_. He could throw it at reported speeds of up to 107 mph. Being hit by something of that velocity would rip through her. She swallowed. There was no way out of this that she could see. There were too many variables, too many things she had not foreseen-

She was…_she was_ _stuck_.

She moved backwards, an awkward dragging shuffle, because her knee had apparently decided to completely give out. The Captain narrowed his eyes, his shield rose a little higher.

"It's over, ma'am." He said firmly, taking a step forward. His voice held a warning.

It was too much. She felt the sliver of control she had left disintegrate. She had always dreamed of what she'd say to him if she ever met him, that perfect soldier whom she herself would never live up to, whose shadow she would always be in. She had memorized the words in her head, had replayed them over and over. But what actually burst from her throat was something else entirely.

"_They said you were a hero!_" she screamed, half sobbing. "You're supposed to _help_ people!"

_Silence_. The distant sound of cars and sirens, the heaving gasps of her breathing. She wanted to call the words back. How weak and insecure they sounded. How _vulnerable_. It was against one of Mr. Fury's rules but at the moment her mind was so muddled she couldn't remember which one. He watched her and she watched him, wondering what his next move would be.

"Wait." He said suddenly. She blinked, face furrowing in confusion before belatedly realizing he was speaking to someone else. Too late she remembered Hawkeye.

There was the sensation of something like a bee sting in her left shoulder. A dart. She removed it with shaking fingers.

"Told ya I wouldn't miss next time." Hawkeye sounded smug. …And a lot closer than he had been last time. Around her, the alley blurred.

I can't go back_, _she thought frantically. _I can't go back! _

And then the tranq swallowed her mind and her thoughts ceased.

o


	2. No Church in the Wild

Chapter One: No Church in the Wild

o

She awoke with her cheek pressed (uncomfortably) against what felt like brick, her body braced against a wall and the pavement.

Instinctively, she knew that only a few moments had passed. She knew this because she could still hear cars and sirens, could still smell the diesel and exhaust from the city around her, which meant that they were possibly in the process of transporting her. And her knee was aching just as badly as it had been before she'd lost consciousness. She felt a moment of hazy frustration. Her body had worked to purge the tranquilizer from her bloodstream but had done absolutely _nothing_ about her knee. …which made being conscious pointless if she couldn't even _run_-

Her arms were twisted awkwardly behind her back, and she realized suddenly that her hands were bound. And from the feel of them, not by standard 'cuffs, either. This was some sort of heavy apparatus that fit like a mittened gauntlet over her wrists and hands, a device she didn't recognize. Since she had no abilities that specifically _used_ her hands, binding them at all was pointless…which meant that it was for something else entirely. Possibly an energy draining device of some sort. Or maybe it would electrocute her if she tried anything.

Around her, voices swam up and down. At least three, she counted blearily, and close behind her from the sounds of it. She opened her eyes, but because of the angle she had been positioned in – on her knees and slouched awkwardly on her side against the wall - she could only see the grey of the sidewalk below.

"-S.H.I.E.L.D property. She has something on her person that belongs to me." It was a voice she recognized. One that had her struggling to get her leaden limbs to move.

"Uh yeah. About that," another voice said. "What exactly did she _have_? I did a scan and she isn't carrying _anything_-"

"That's classified." The first voice replied.

"' 'Course it is." The other voice sounded mildly annoyed. "Y'know Fury, I'm getting awful tired of-" There was a short pause, and then, "I'm sorry, is…is she _waking_ _up? _Seriously? Did I just see her move?" she heard footsteps as someone approached her from behind. "Hawkeye, I thought you said you tranqed her!"

"I _did_. There was enough juice in that dart to knock out a freakin' _elephant-_"

"…If by elephant you mean _ladybug_-"

"_Hey!_"

"Regardless," Fury injected, "This is no longer an Avenger problem. I'll take it from here-"

She finally managed to pull herself up. Her knee screamed a protest as she twisted clumsily around, still slumped against the wall. The sudden movement left her nauseous and her head spinning, but she forced her eyes up, past Iron man, past Captain America, past a scowling Hawkeye, settling on Fury with three parts suspicion and two parts anxiety.

He stared down at her with an unreadable expression, his tall frame made even more imposing from her crouched position on the ground.

"Glad you're awake," the Director said flatly. He did not sound 'glad' at all. "That means you can walk to your own cell."

She didn't answer. For the second time that day, she realized it was over. This was it. There was no contingency plan. Escaping the first time had been a fluke. She would never get another opportunity. She hadn't even really been a prisoner before…at least, not in the _traditional_ sense. But now they would be actively holding her, actively guarding her. And they knew everything about her, so her 'cell' would be custom made to prevent any mishaps. Probably littered with inhibitors and repressors of some sort-

She wanted to stare down Fury. To feign bravery. She wanted her face to wear that same unreadable expression as _his_ currently did. But her poker face was non-existent; she had never been brave, had never excelled at confrontation or been a very good liar. Why, she couldn't even hold his _gaze_-!

Her shoulders bowed, dark hair forming a curtain around her face. Random dots of water littered the pavement before her.

"Nothing to say? " the Director asked, unimpressed by her tears. She barely heard him. "That's fine. We've wasted enough time here as it is-"

"Director Fury." Fury stopped mid-sentence.

"Yes, Captain?"

"What exactly did this woman do? What are the charges against her?"

"I'm afraid that's classified." There was an edge to his voice. Nick Fury did not like to be questioned. Apparently Captain America didn't get the memo…or chose to ignore it all together.

"Was she a criminal?" the Captain pressed, sounding confused. "A prisoner?"

"She is now. Level 10. Anything _else_, Captain?" Now Fury just sounded annoyed. If she were smart, she'd use this moment's distraction to escape, to at least make an _attempt_…

_But what's the point_?, she argued. It would only be a token attempt anyway…she could barely move right now. And besides, it hadn't taken them long at all to find her. And she'd been so _careful_-

"As a matter of fact there _is_ something else. I'm afraid we won't be releasing her into your custody-"

Her head snapped up.

"-until we do a little investigating of our own."

"_Excuse me?_" Fury's voice was icy. He turned slowly, one brow lifted over his lone narrowed eye.

"Yeah, whoa Cap. Not sure if we wanna get involved any more than we already have," Iron Man interjected.

"Y'know, I'm actually a little curious myself," Hawkeye drawled. "I mean, from what I remember this kid couldn't draw her way out of a _paper bag_ and now she's got S.H.I.E.L.D chasing after her?"

"This 'kid' is an _extremely_ dangerous criminal." Nick stated angrily. "And a _fugitive_. She currently has in her possession sensitive information, which we need. That's the only reason she's even still _alive _at this point." She shouldn't have been shocked; it _was_ S.H.I.E.L.D after all. Even so she felt something inside her crumble at his words. He continued on, seemingly oblivious. "She's a threat to this country's security and a danger to anyone she's near. If you think she's simply the bag of tears you're looking at then you couldn't be more wrong." It was as close to a compliment as she'd ever get from Nick Fury, she supposed. For some reason, it made her feel worse.

For a moment, no one said anything.

The tears had long since stopped flowing, but her face felt itchy and uncomfortable. And now her nose was running. She could feel their eyes on her, silently mulling over Fury's assessment of her. Probably wondering what sort of horrors she'd committed, what sort of vengeful super-villain she undoubtedly was. They'd assisted S.H.I.E.L.D without question, but wasn't that what they were _supposed_ to do? Stop the bad guys?

Was _she_ a bad guy?

Right now she didn't feel like much of anything. Broken and defeated, unable to even physically support herself-

"Even so. If it's all the same to you, sir, I think we'll decide that for ourselves."

_What was he doing?_

"What's the matter, Captain? Think I'm lying to you?" she stared numbly up at Fury. He was back to wearing his unreadable expression and it was hard to tell what he was thinking.

"On the day I met you, you told me I could trust you…when it counts." the Captain said quietly. "I think you're a man who cares about his country. Who'll do what he thinks is right for the _good_ of the country. So to answer your question, no. I don't think you're lying. But with all due respect I don't think you're giving us the whole truth either, sir. Everyone is entitled to a fair trial, Director Fury. It's one of the principles this country was founded on."

_How…nationalistic_, was her immediate thought. It left a sour taste in her mouth, but beneath her scorn, if she were completely honest, was something else. Pure unadulterated _shock_ at the fact that this soldier, whom she'd always labeled as a mindless, obedient drone, the government's own propaganda tool, _actually seemed to have a mind of his own_.

Further shocking her was the fact that Fury did not seem to take offence. Instead, a rumbling chuckle reverberated from his chest.

"Indeed it was, Captain." He said. He flipped open a cell phone, speaking curtly (and too low for her to hear from her position on the ground) into it. A second later he had stashed it back into the pockets of his trench coat.

"Alright, then. I'll play nice," he said finally, after a measured moment. "I'll leave her in your custody... for now. I'll let you perform your little 'investigation'. You aren't gonna like what you find, but have at it. Just know: it's on your head if anything happens. Remember that, Captain."

"I take full responsibility, sir." He said solemnly.

What? _WHAT?_ It happened so fast, for a second she wasn't sure if she'd heard right. Nick Fury was _leaving?_ _He was leaving and he wasn't arresting her?_ Was this some sort of set up? A trick of some sort? Some clever ploy Fury had devised-?

But Fury was walking away, and the throng of S.H.I.E.L.D agents that had been hovering nearby lowered their weapons and began to retreat. She felt her body trembling. NO. This was... something was _wrong_. This had to be some sort of-of_…trap_. Nick Fury did not simply hand over perps, even to the _Avengers_. But he was gone, and Captain America was turning towards her-

Only to be blocked by Iron Man.

"Okay...mind telling me what the heck just happened?" Iron Man did not sound happy. "What are you doing, Cap? This isn't 1940! You can't just assume because some random pretty girl is running and crying that she's a damsel in distress!" It was something she herself was wondering.

"Tony-"

"No, _listen_ Steve. The world has changed. Hawkeye tranqed her and she woke up less than 5 minutes later! She might not look dangerous but she had what looked like all of S.H.I.E.L.D after her-"

"That wasn't all of S.H.I.E.L.D," Hawkeye cut in.

"Yeah, not helping!" Iron Man retorted. "What are we supposed to do with her, anyway? And you!" he turned his attention to Hawkeye, who had his arms crossed, leaning against a street light. "What do you know about this? Did you two work together at S.H.I.E.L.D?"

"She wasn't an agent," Hawkeye said, watching her suspiciously. She stared back at him, dully. "Her name is Rumor, and she's the result of one of S.H.I.E.L.D's failed attempts at duplicating the Super Soldier Serum."

o

First of all, thank you, **Nomannic** for reviewing! It's always nice to have thoughts/feedback. I'm a HUGE Avengers fan and fell in love with their EMHs incarnations. I've been playing around with the idea for this story for the past 8 or so months and finally got around to getting it down, so I hope I can do the characters justice. I'm normally into really long chapters, but I'm trying to train myself into updating more often, so these chapters will be short (4 or 5 pages) but (hopefully) quick. Please let me know what you think!


	3. Rumor Has It

Chapter Two: Rumor Has It

o

"…super soldier serum?"

The muted surprise –however genuine sounding- in Captain America's voice made her want to _throttle_ him. Instead, she squeezed her eyes shut and laid her head against the wall. It was certainly easier than watching the inevitable comparisons between herself and the Captain. The words 'super' and 'soldier' had always only ever brought to mind one person, and it wasn't her.

"It wasn't exactly something S.H.I.E.L.D wanted known within its ranks," Hawkeye replied slowly. "_I_ don't even know much about the program. But there were rumors..." He trailed off. Despite her resolve, she felt herself grimace.

"What…sort of rumors?" she heard the Captain ask. He sounded both hesitant and curious.

"Well, no one's ever been able to duplicate it," Iron Man offered after a moment when Hawkeye didn't continue. "People have been trying for decades to emulate the results, sometimes fatally. I should've known S.H.I.E.L.D would eventually get in on the game. " She heard the clank of his suit as he moved closer and opened her eyes, watching him warily. The sun glinted off the alloy, making the crimson and gold shine like a sunset. He had his arms crossed and his head cocked to the side in what was a decidedly pensive stance.

"So what exactly made it a failure? You clearly have no problem with flushing toxins out your system." He stared. At least, she _assumed_ he was staring. It was hard to tell with his helmet on, but he was obviously waiting for an answer. They all were.

She opened her mouth. Shut it. Opened it again. "I…" her gaze drifted over to Captain America, dropping to his red boots.

"I… didn't turn out like you." She finished lamely.

"…Yeah. So that answer clears up absolutely_ nothing._" Iron Man remarked, sounding a little exasperated.

"_That clears up absolutely nothing_." _Mr. Fury said, sounding exasperated._

She blinked at the memory and forced her attention back to the present.

"It….it just didn't work the way it was supposed to." She mumbled, ducking her head. It was too hot. The sun sat high in the sky, (_noon, maybe a little past one, she guessed_) The three around her were too close for comfort. What more was there to say? It hadn't worked. _She hadn't become a super soldier-_

The pain in her knee was becoming a point of distraction. Never had an injury lasted this long. If anything, it seemed to actually be getting _worse_. She wanted to stand up, to at least change positions to take the pressure off of it. She tried pushing against the wall to shrug herself up, but her knees refused to unbend.

"And while we're on the subject," Iron Man continued, "what'd you yoink?"

_Yoink?_

"I didn't steal anything," she said hoarsely.

"Uh huh. That's not what S.H.I.E.L.D seems to think." Hawkeye did not sound convinced. She pursed her lips, feeling a sudden rush of irritation that threatened to burn into anger. It wasn't all that long ago when he _himself_ was being pursued by S.H.I.E.L.D-

She drew a trembling breath.

Still…_still_ they _had_ gotten her away from S.H.I.E.L.D. It all boiled down to that. They didn't trust her, but _whatever. _She was away from S.H.I.E.L.D. Temporarily, at least. And hadn't that been her original goal?

"I didn't steal _anything_," she insisted again. Hawkeye shared a glance with Captain America, who didn't answer. His face was (carefully, she noted) neutral. For some reason this bothered her more than the outright suspicion of the others.

He knelt in front of her.

"Can you stand?" he asked quietly. She avoided his eyes, focusing instead on one of his large blue clad shoulders before her gaze flicked nervously away.

"No? …I don't know-"

He stood in one fluid motion and moved behind her.

"I'm going to pull you up, okay?"

"Alright."

She felt careful hands grasp her upper arms, lifting her slowly. She pushed her weight on her good leg, wincing at first the pins and needles feeling of restored circulation, and then the throb of pain that immediately followed from her injured knee. He held her firmly upright until she regained her balance enough to tentatively test her weight on the other leg. She stayed standing. Barely. A moment later she tipped over, and Captain America's grip tightened around her arms. Had she _really_ taxed herself this much? No…no…something was _wrong_-

"Fury left his modulator on, it's drawing out her energy," Iron Man said.

_Oh. A modulator of some sort_. Something new. Or maybe _not_ new. Maybe the knowledge of it had simply been kept from her in the event of such a scenario.

"Can you take it off?" the Captain asked Iron Man.

"'Course I can. Question is, is it a good idea?"

A pause.

She let her eyes unfocus, found herself drifting from the conversation around her, concentrating instead on the sulfur laced breeze that brushed past her. Somewhere in the distance a car horn beeped. During her initial chase, she had run past scores of people in the streets and around blocks, but since regaining consciousness she hadn't noticed any civilians in the immediate vicinity. S.H.I.E.L.D must have quarantined the area, she realized. That meant that they'd expected the fight to get ugly...that they-

The hands on her shoulders jolted her back to attention. A pair of blue eyes stared down at her solemnly.

"Miss Rumor. We're going to take off the modulator. Can I trust you not to run?"

_Run. Yes. She needed to run._

But even if she had the strength, where would she go? They had caught her so _easily_ before. Captain America spoke of investigations and fairness. And the idea of staying, of possibly being free from S.H.I.E.L.D was all out tempting.

But the idea of alternately leaving her fate in the hands of people who would probably just turn her back over to Fury _anyway, _admittedly wasn't very tempting at all. The Director's last words before departing had been telling_: _

_I'll leave her in your custody…for now. _

_For now_, he'd said. Those words echoed ominously in her head.

Whatever the outcome, the result would be same. She would go back to S.H.I.E.L.D. Why Fury had allowed Captain America to believe there would be any merit to his 'investigation' in the first place was questionable; it was –at the very least- out of character for him. But then…perhaps the words had only been for _her_ benefit. To lure her into a false sense of security? S.H.I.E.L.D was certainly not above lies and mind games-

She was taking too long to answer. The seconds had stretched into moments. No one had said anything, but she could feel the tension in the air. Regardless of whether she said yes or not, they would never believe her now, never trust her enough to actually _remove_ the device.

She nodded anyway, a quick, sharp action that made her head spin.

He stared at her a fraction longer than necessary, which confirmed that he'd probably guessed the direction of her thoughts. But surprisingly, _shockingly_, he released her shoulders and stepped away, nodding to Iron Man.

It did not take long to remove. Apparently Iron Man was as tech savvy as they said. The modulator might even have been based on some of his technology, knowing S.H.I.E.L.D. Once it had been removed, she felt the difference almost immediately. Her knee wasn't healed, and she was still spent, but the vertigo and fatigue she'd experienced was fading. She mumbled an automatic _thanks_, rubbing her frayed wrists. No one gave any indication of having heard, yet she noticed with some trepidation that they did not move away from her, either. Obviously they really _did_ think she would run. Truthfully, she might have attempted if not for her knee.

"Okay let's book. Where's Hulk? I have a board meeting I was supposed to be at like, an _hour_ ago…"

_The Hulk? _She stiffened_. _The memory of him literally tearing through the street, of the seething fury in his eyes after she'd provoked him, albeit unintentionally-

"Well he's big and he's green…can't be _that_ hard to find him," Hawkeye said, glancing around.

"Yeah but he's not answering his communicator-"

"I saw him not more than fifteen minutes ago," said Captain America from beside her. She studied her tennis shoes, immaculately white against the grey of the pavement, and tried not to draw their attention.

"Look," said Hawkeye, "we're not that far from the mansion. I'll find him and head back later. You two just get going and-" she made the mistake of looking up at him.

"-deal with her," he finished, watching her in what could only be termed as narrowed eyed suspicion. She clutched the tail of her cardigan but did not speak. It suddenly occurred to her that Hawkeye might actually know more about S.H.I.E.L.D's Super Soldier program than he was letting on.

What sort of 'rumors' had he heard? He hadn't really specified earlier when questioned by Captain America, but likely that was because he didn't want to reveal anything in front of her. Even something as unfounded as hearsay became a powerful weapon in the hands of an enemy. And clearly he considered her - at the very least -little better than one. It was...jarring. Again she felt that kernel of doubt. _Was_ she bad? But that couldn't be right. She wasn't _hurting_ anyone. _Obviously_ she wasn't an enemy-

But surrounded by three Avengers, at least two of whom openly distrusted her, she wondered if it wasn't at least partly true.

o

Okay, first off, I didn't intend for this chapter to take so long, but alas, life got in the way. My apologies! Again, thanks a hundred times over to **Nomannic** for that lovely review. You really do inspire me! ^^ And to those (silent) readers keeping up as well. Next chapter is when the story actually starts.


End file.
